Café-au-lait Birthmarks

Café-au-lait macules (CALMs) are benign well-circumscribed, flat, uniformly light to dark brown spots with a characteristic ‘coffee-with-milk’ colour. CALMs are very common and are seen in 10–20% of the normal population. In rare cases, they may be a sign of an underlying genetic condition.

Café-au-lait spots contain more melanin (pigment) than normal skin. They are uniform, tan to dark brown flat spots that may be located anywhere on the body except the mucous membranes. They can range from a few millimetres to greater than 20 cm in diameter.

Café-au-lait spots are usually present at birth or appear during early childhood. They enlarge proportionately with overall body growth but remain stable in size during adulthood